A mecca for the devoted fly fisher, this is undoubtedly the most highly revered fly fishing river in the world, and for good reason. Its gin clear waters tumble over bright gravels and trickle between vast swathes of ranunculus and water parsnip as it breathes life into ancient deciduous woodlands, weaves through sleepy thatched villages and spills out over wide open water meadows. Otters splash in its burbling pools brimming with wild brown trout and the skies haze with the gunsmoke of electric fly hatches. Welcome to the birthplace of modern fly fishing and the grandfather of the chalkstreams, the glorious River Test!
Myriad carrier streams, water mills and water meadows yoke in a river that is almost never confined to one single channel, instead preferring to split into an amalgamation of five or more streams as it abseils the rolling hills of rural Hampshire. For some, to visit the River Test is a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage, for others a weekend escape, but for all who cast a fly on her waters it is a chance to experience world class trout fishing in simply the most breathtaking and blissfully secluded scenery in England.
For many happy years this has been one of the best-run fly fishing syndicates in Hampshire, with completely exclusive access to some of the finest and most prestigious water on the main River Test and her adjacent carrier streams.
Welcome to one of the best kept secrets anywhere on the River Test.
Fish in the footsteps of FM Halford, at the Oakley, Rectory and Dun beats along the hallowed river banks of the world famous River Test. Welcome to the birthplace of fly fishing itself, Mottisfont Abbey.
A fishing guide will come with all the tackle, equipment and flies required, plus an encyclopedic knowledge of chalkstream fly fishing, but more than that they make an amiable companion on a day beside the river.
Find out more about bringing a fishing guide on the chalkstreams, and check out our private tuitions and courses for beginners and intermediate fly fishers.
Dreaming of a burbling chalkstream brimming with frenzied brown trout slurping in the gunsmoke of an electric fly hatch? Your next adventure starts here!
